Former Central New York Reps. Dan Maffei and Michael Arcuri are among those who had to clean out their offices last year after losing in the November election. Newly-released expense reports show the congressmen paid their staffs large bonuses before leaving office. Here, boxes and bins are moved in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Nov. 30. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Washington -- Former U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei awarded his staff almost $200,000 in extra pay and bonuses, paid for by taxpayers, as he shut down his congressional office after losing the November election, new House spending records show.

Maffei’s aides received up to $18,000 per person in extra pay in the fourth quarter of 2010, with some earning bigger bonuses than their salary for the quarter, according to Maffei and expense reports filed by his office.

The practice is not a new one in Congress, where departing members of the House and Senate have routinely boosted the final paychecks for their staffers as a reward for their service.

But Maffei, D-DeWitt, and former Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, who also lost in November, stood out from their House colleagues because the former Central New York congressmen raised their staff's fourth-quarter pay by some of the highest percentages in Congress.

Out of the 434 House members in office at the end of the year, Maffei had the sixth-highest percentage increase in payroll compared to the first three quarters of 2010, according to LegiStorm, a Washington, D.C., organization that tracks congressional financial reports.

Arcuri had the 14th highest increase, with his fourth-quarter payroll for full-time staffers increasing $120,000 or about 68 percent compared to the rest of the year, the records show.

Maffei’s fourth quarter payroll for full-time staffers increased by 91.4 percent compared to the rest of the year. Only five other House members had a larger percentage increase.

Jock Friedly, LegiStorm’s president and founder, said his organization’s analysis showed the largest bonus packages came mostly from House members who retired or were defeated in last year’s midterm elections.

Both Maffei and Arcuri defend the extra pay as appropriate for staffers who they say are underpaid compared to their peers, work long hours without overtime and are not entitled to any formal severance pay when their bosses lose an election.

Former Congressman Dan Maffei, center, takes his oath of office on the House floor on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Maffei said in an interview Thursday that he had the lowest paid staff in the 29-member New York congressional delegation, and he always promised that he would try to make up some of the ground with year-end bonuses.

“It’s very simple,” Maffei said when asked about his ranking on the bonus list. “We had the lowest-paid staff in terms of salary in New York state. So it’s not surprising we would have one of the higher levels of bonuses.”

Maffei’s full-time staff received an average pay of $10,445 per quarter in the first three quarters of the year, the lowest among New York House members. But the bonuses in the fourth quarter increased the average to $19,998, the third-highest among New York representatives.

“As we got to the end of the year in 2009 and 2010 we gave more generous bonuses,” Maffei said. “We had an even bigger surplus in 2010, so we gave out more generous bonuses.”

The money for the bonuses comes from annual allowance each member of Congress is given from taxpayers to pay for their staff salaries and the cost of running their Washington, D.C., and district offices. Any money left over at the end of year is returned to the Treasury. Members who spend more than their allowance must pay the difference out of their own salary.

Maffei’s allowance for 2010 was almost $1.5 million. He said he returned $49,453 to the Treasury after paying the bonuses. He said the extra payments included unofficial severance pay for his top two staffers, who each received more than $10,000 in extra pay in the final quarter.

Some of Maffei’s junior staffers received larger bonuses both in dollars and percentage increases, mostly because of earnings limits on House staff members. Staffers are limited to a maximum salary of $168,411 per year, or $14,034 per month. None of Maffei’s staffers were paid more than $125,000, even with the bonuses.

“I don’t believe the overall level of compensation was too high,” Maffei said of his staff’s final pay. “We had more than twice as many contacts from constituents than my predecessor did. I don’t know one member of my staff who wasn’t working intently. I don’t believe any one of my staffers was overpaid given the sacrifices they made.”

Arcuri, who served two terms in Congress until losing in November to Rep. Richard Hanna, R-Barneveld, also defended the extra payments.

“My staff had been with me for awhile and they were very, very good,” Arcuri said. “Based on the fact that their salary was relatively low, I thought it was something that was fair.”

Arcuri said his staff worked long hours because he left some positions unfilled to save money. Even after the bonuses were paid, the former congressman said he still managed to return $177,000 to the Treasury of his nearly $1.5 million office allowance.

Arcuri said it is clear that most staffers would make more money in the private sector. He noted that his former legislative director, Chris Wilcox, is a lawyer who is admitted to practice in Washington, D.C.

“To infer that they are making more than they should is somewhat unfair,” Arcuri said.

Citizens Against Government Waste, a government watchdog group in Washington, D.C., disagrees with the congressmen, and has called for any money left over at the end of the year to be returned rather than paid out as bonuses.

“This is similar to every other type of federal expenditure,” said Tom Schatz, president of CAGW. “They spend everything at the end of the year because there is no incentive to save it.”

Schatz, himself a former Capitol Hill staffer, said every congressional aide knows they will be paid less than their peers.

“I have nothing against congressional staff,” Schatz said. “But there are thousands of people who would love to have those jobs. Everyone understands it is not a high-paying job. Most people see this as a great chance to get experience and use it as a stepping stone to something that has better pay.”

Maffei said he fears criticism of such bonuses will discourage people from choosing careers in public service. The House already voted in January to cut each member’s office allowance by 5 percent.

“It is a sacrifice to work on Capitol Hill because they have to get apartments in a very expensive city,” Maffei said. “Congressional service is important…You want to make sure you have decent people. I am very worried about the increasing cynicism about government service.”

Schatz said Maffei is making an old argument.

“I have heard that for many years,” Schatz said. “But there is never a shortage of people interested in working in Capitol Hill. I think most people who leave Capitol Hill go on to be very successful.”

Maffei, who is still considering whether to seek an election rematch in 2012 against Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, said he understands some people will be critical of the payments. But he said he stands by his decision to compensate a loyal, hard-working staff.

“I could understand how someone would see it and say that it is not deserved,” Maffei said. “If that is going to harm me politically, so be it. But I think my staff deserved it.”